“Mappapie” wins 2009 TDC Tarpon Thunder Tournament

A total of 109 anglers fishing on 26 boats took part in the Trinidad and Tobago Game Fishing Association (TTGFA) 2009 TDC Tarpon Thunder Tournament off Trinidad’s North/West coast on August 14th,15th and 16th .

The first session began with Brett Thompson on “D ‘Rog” catching the first fish of the tournament. He went on to catch 4 tarpons on the first day putting his team in contention for a place in winner’s row. However the tournament was made up of five fishing sessions over three days and Brett could not hold on to win the tournament as it was Michael De Freitas fishing on “Mappapie” that proved to have what it takes to walk away with the prestigious “Best Angler”prize. Brett came in second with Jonathan de La Rosa on board “Bobby Breen” taking third place honours.Michael De Freitas will now represent Trinidad and Tobago in next year’s IGFA Inshore World Championships hosted by Floriday Keys Outfitters.

Michael’s performance assisted in giving his team, “Mappapie” victory in the best boat category. “De Jep” came in second. “Bobby Breen” took third place with “D ‘Rog” in fourth place and “Dream Catcher” coming in fifth. Suzette Aboud and Jimmy Aboud, both on board “Outcast” won best female and best junior anglers respectively.

The best foreign angler category was won by Mike Myatt of team “Barbie Doll Too”. Mike is the Chief Operations Officer of the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) and was invited by the TTGFA to experience the TDC Tarpon Thunder Tournament in order to expose the international fishing community to our waters. It may have proven to be a big success as Mike complemented the organizers and sponsors (TDC,Well Services Group of Companies,Gatorade,Carib,Evian,Real Marketing Ltd) for the sportsmanlike manner in which the tournament was conducted. He went on to say that he has fished in all parts of the world and has never seen the type of kinship that existed between the competitors in this tournament. He insisted that in no other tournament has he seen fishermen giving away their bait to competing teams that were in need. Mike said that the spirit in which the competition was held will be one that will help in making this destination one in which anglers the world over will want to come and enjoy.

(via Steven Valdez)